14 research outputs found
Discovery of GeV Emission from the Circinus galaxy with the Fermi-LAT
We report the discovery of gamma-ray emission from the Circinus galaxy using
the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.
Circinus is a nearby (~4 Mpc) starburst with a heavily obscured Seyfert-type
active nucleus, bipolar radio lobes perpendicular to the spiral disk, and
kpc-scale jet-like structures. Our analysis of 0.1-100 GeV events collected
during 4 years of LAT observations reveals a significant (~ 7.3 sigma) excess
above the background. We find no indications of variability or spatial
extension beyond the LAT point-spread function. A power-law model used to
describe the 0.1-100 GeV gamma-ray spectrum yields a flux of
(18.8+/-5.8)x10^{-9} ph cm^{-2} s^{-1} and photon index 2.19+/-0.12,
corresponding to an isotropic gamma-ray luminosity of 3 x 10^{40} erg s^{-1}.
This observed gamma-ray luminosity exceeds the luminosity expected from
cosmic-ray interactions in the interstellar medium and inverse Compton
radiation from the radio lobes. Thus the origin of the GeV excess requires
further investigation.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
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The GLAST Background Model
In order to estimate the ability of the GLAST/LAT to reject unwanted background of charged particles, optimize the on-board processing, size the required telemetry and optimize the GLAST orbit, we developed a detailed model of the background particles that would affect the LAT. In addition to the well-known components of the cosmic radiation, we included splash and reentrant components of protons, electrons (e+ and e-) from 10 MeV and beyond as well as the albedo gamma rays produced by cosmic ray interactions with the atmosphere. We made estimates of the irreducible background components produced by positrons and hadrons interacting in the multilayered micrometeorite shield and spacecraft surrounding the LAT and note that because the orbital debris has increased, the shielding required and hence the background are larger than were present in EGRET. Improvements to the model are currently being made to include the east-west effect
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Bright AGN Source List from the First Three Months of the Fermi Large Area Telescope All-Sky Survey
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Constraints on Cosmological Dark Matter Annihilation from the Fermi-LAT Isotropic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Measurement
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The On-Orbit Calibrations for the Fermi Large Area Telescope
The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope began its on-orbit operations on June 23, 2008. Calibrations, defined in a generic sense, correspond to synchronization of trigger signals, optimization of delays for latching data, determination of detector thresholds, gains and responses, evaluation of the perimeter of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), measurements of live time, of absolute time, and internal and spacecraft boresight alignments. Here we describe on-orbit calibration results obtained using known astrophysical sources, galactic cosmic rays, and charge injection into the front-end electronics of each detector. Instrument response functions will be described in a separate publication. This paper demonstrates the stability of calibrations and describes minor changes observed since launch. These results have been used to calibrate the LAT datasets to be publicly released in August 2009
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Measurement of the Cosmic Ray e+ plus e- Spectrum from 20 GeV to 1 TeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
Designed as a high-sensitivity gamma-ray observatory, the Fermi Large Area Telescope is also an electron detector with a large acceptance exceeding 2 m{sup 2}sr at 300 GeV. Building on the gamma-ray analysis, we have developed an efficient electron detection strategy which provides sufficient background rejection for measurement of the steeply-falling electron spectrum up to 1 TeV. Our high precision data show that the electron spectrum falls with energy as E{sup -3.0} and does not exhibit prominent spectral features. Interpretations in terms of a conventional diffusive model as well as a potential local extra component are briefly discussed
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Pulsed Gamma-Rays From the Millisecond Pulsar J0030+0451 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
We report the discovery of gamma-ray pulsations from the nearby isolated millisecond pulsar PSR J0030+0451 with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST). This discovery makes PSR J0030+0451 the second millisecond pulsar to be detected in gamma-rays after PSR J0218+4232, observed by the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The spin-down power {dot E} = 3.5 x 10{sup 33} ergs s{sup -1} is an order of magnitude lower than the empirical lower bound of previously known gamma-ray pulsars. The emission profile is characterized by two narrow peaks, respectively 0.07 {+-} 0.01 and 0.08 {+-} 0.02 wide, separated by 0.44 {+-} 0.02 in phase. The first gamma-ray peak falls 0.15 {+-} 0.01 after the main radio peak. The pulse shape is similar to that of the 'normal' gamma-ray pulsars. An exponentially cut-off power-law fit of the emission spectrum leads to an integral photon flux above 100 MeV of (6.76 {+-} 1.05 {+-} 1.35) x 10{sup -8} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} with cut-off energy (1.7 {+-} 0.4 {+-} 0.5) GeV. Based on its parallax distance of (300 {+-} 90) pc, we obtain a gamma-ray efficiency L{sub {gamma}}/{dot E} {approx_equal} 15% for the conversion of spin-down energy rate into gamma-ray radiation, assuming isotropic emission
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Fermi LAT Observation of Diffuse Gamma-Rays Produced through Interactions Between Local Interstellar Matter and High Energy Cosmic Rays
Observations by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi mission of diffuse {gamma}-rays in a mid-latitude region in the third quadrant (Galactic longitude l from 200{sup o} to 260{sup o} and latitude |b| from 22{sup o} to 60{sup o}) are reported. The region contains no known large molecular cloud and most of the atomic hydrogen is within 1 kpc of the solar system. The contributions of {gamma}-ray point sources and inverse Compton scattering are estimated and subtracted. The residual {gamma}-ray intensity exhibits a linear correlation with the atomic gas column density in energy from 100 MeV to 10 GeV. The measured integrated {gamma}-ray emissivity is (1.63 {+-} 0.05) x 10{sup -26} photons s{sup -1}sr{sup -1} H-atom{sup -1} and (0.66 {+-} 0.02) x 10{sup -26} photons s{sup -1}sr{sup -1} H-atom{sup -1} above 100 MeV and above 300 MeV, respectively, with an additional systematic error of {approx}10%. The differential emissivity from 100 MeV to 10 GeV agrees with calculations based on cosmic ray spectra consistent with those directly measured, at the 10% level. The results obtained indicate that cosmic ray nuclei spectra within 1 kpc from the solar system in regions studied are close to the local interstellar spectra inferred from direct measurements at the Earth within {approx}10%